EXCEL FREE

This
utility allows you to work with Microsoft® Excel® without macro alerts for
your known XL files that contain macros, while maintaining the
highest virus security level settings for all others XL files,
thus
increasing Excel security and productivity.
Other features include the ability to specify Excel startup and file open
options. Supported Excel Startup Options: Excel version (where
more than one Excel version is installed), whether to start as a
new instance, the startup window style (normal, maximized,
minimized or hidden) and finally the ability to start in normal
or automation mode (start a new instance without loading any
add-in or XLSTART folder files). Supported File Open Options:
read-only mode, password to open or write, add to recently used
file Excel list, ignore read-only recommended and update links
options. This is a useful tool for all Excel users, from a
normal user thought to power users and script programmers.

Basically, Excel Free is a small, single file standalone
executable that doesn’t need installation. It’s flexible in its
application (the way it can be used) and does not change any
Excel or Windows settings, unless you specify the optional
file extension association. The idea is quite simple, instead of
directly starting Excel.exe (directly or by file association),
ExcelFre.exe is used to start and control the boot-up process of
Excel.exe and your XL file.

When
ExcelFre.exe is started, it first looks in the command line for
an XL filename and if present will immediately open it without
any macro alerts. If ExcelFre.exe has been renamed it will look
for an XL file with the same name and open it without any macro
alerts. If no file name is specified, ExcelFre.exe will then
either act on any command line argument switches or simply start
a dialog box allowing you specify options or an XL filename.

To
specify an Excel version, if there is more than one installed,
and configure its start, keep the Shift key pushed while the
ExcelFre.exe is loading. An alert and then a form are shown with
available options. The settings that you specify will be saved
in an .INI file in the same folder as ExcelFre.exe, thus you can
have different ExcelFre.exe copies on your computer with
different Excel versions and different start settings. You can
also specify with priority the Excel version and a start setting
thru arguments in the command line.

Excel
Free is flexible, thus you can open an XL file without macro
alert of four ways depending on your specific needs:

1 -
Renaming the executable ExcelFre.exe to the XL file name

2 -
Put the XL file name as argument in the command line in scripts
and Windows shortcuts

3 -
Associating file extensions

4 -
Through the Excel standard open file dialog box

1 - Renaming
the executable ExcelFre.exe to the XL file name

Copy
ExcelFre.exe to the folder where the XL file is located and
simply rename ExcelFre.EXE to the XL file name (keeping .EXE
file extension). When you launch the renamed executable, Excel
Free will recognize that its name has been changed and will look
for and opens the XL file with the same name.

For
example: For YourWorkbook.xls in C:\MyDocuments, the
ExcelFre.exe would be copied to C:\MyDocuments and renamed to
YourWorkbook.exe. When this renamed exe is launched,
YourWorkbook.xls will be immediately opened in the Excel without
any macro alert.

Other
example: If you as a developer start your application through of
a file of name MyApp.xla containing macros. You may rename the
ExcelFre.exe file to MyApp.exe, put it in the same folder of
MyApp.xla and create a shortcut on Windows Start Menu for
MyApp.exe, when clicked, will open immediately the MyApp.xla
file on Excel without any macro alerts and also optionally, with
a different version of Excel and or start settings other than
the defaults as set in the windows registry.

Special Names: ExcelFre.exe has two special names that
change the behavior of way Excel Free searches for a matching XL
file. These names are “Setup.exe” and “Install.exe”, once
ExcelFre.exe has been renamed to either one of these, the
matching XL file name criteria will look for the first part
matching only. In other words, an exact XL file name match is
not required, only the first part need match. Example;
ExcelFre.exe is renamed to Setup.exe and in the same folder
there is XL file called SetupApplication.XLS, The Special
filename mode will recognize SetupApplication.XLS as a matching
file and launch it.

All
of the above features allow you to use a Windows short cut to
control the launching and environment of an XL file in Excel.
This can also be very useful in the creation of Autorun CD’s or
Zip VBA installer packages. See Autorun CD
and Zip Installer Package below.

2 - Put the
XL file name as argument in the command line in scripts and
Windows shortcuts

In
the ExcelFre.exe command line in a Windows shortcut or in a
script (bat, vbs, vba etc.) put the XL file full path & name
after a space. For example:

...\ExcelFre.exe C:\MyDocuments\YourWorkbook.xls

The
ExcelFre.ini file together the ExcelFre.exe will define the
Excel version (if there is more than one installed), and its
start setting, but you can still force a different version and
start settings by putting arguments before the XL file name
which also supports * and ? wildcard characters and criteria via
/ Wfc:n argument to filter a single file, if more than one file
meets the wildcards. For example, to open the latest saved
YourWorkbook*.xls from C:\MyDocuments\ folder on Excel 9.0
(2000) in a maximized window the command line would be:

...\ExcelFre.exe
/V09 /WSmx /Wfc:4 C:\MyDocuments\YourWorkbook*.xls

The
possible command line arguments here are as follows:

/V08
- Open in Excel 97, if installed

/V09
- Open in Excel 2000, if installed

/V10
- Open in Excel 2002 (XP), if installed

/V11
- Open in Excel 2003, if installed

/V12
- Open in Excel 2007, if installed

/V14
- Open in Excel 2010, if installed

/V15
- Open in Excel 2013, if installed

/V16
- Open in Excel 2016, if installed

/VExe:"name of the Excel.exe file here" - Path and name of an
Excel.exe file in an active drive to be used directly. If you
specify just the file name or a partial path, the Excel Free
will search the file completing the path. First, it attempts to
complete from the folder where it is and then from the root of
each active drive on the current computer, using immediately the
first found (Quotation marks are required if the path and name
contain any spaces)

/WSmx
- Open with Excel window in maximized style

/WSn
- Open with Excel window in normal style

/WSMi
- Open with Excel window in minimized style

/WSh
- Open with Excel window in hidden style

/NewI
- Open always in new Excel instance

/Automation - New instance clean of add-ins and XLSTART folder
files

/Psw:"your password here" - Password to open or write the XL
file (Quotation marks are required if the password contains any
spaces)

/ReadOnly - Open in read-only mode

/IgnReadOnlyRec - Ignore read-only recommended

/AddToMRU - Add file name to Excel recently used file list

/UL0
- Doesn't update any links

/UL1
- Updates external links but not remote links

/UL2
- Updates remote links but not external links

/UL3
- Updates both remote and external links

/Wfc:n - Criteria to filter a single file when using * and ?
wildcards and more than one name satisfy. Where n can be:

0 -
To filter the first returned by the VB Dir() function without
sorting (random)

3 - Associating
file extensions

You
can associate the *.xlsf, *.xlaf and *.xlmf file extensions to
the ExcelFre.exe application. Then you rename or save your
desired alert free XL file(s) with one of these extensions.

Example: YourWorkbook.xls could be renamed or saved as
YourWorkbook.xlsf

The
association is registered in the Windows Register and there are
two ways to make or un-make the file association, method 1 is
via the ExcelFre.exe dialog box and method 2 is via the command
line.

Method 1, using the dialog box: Launch ExcelFre.exe and from
the dialog box, click the Associate or UnAssociate button to
register or unregister the association.

Method 2, using command line arguments:

/RegF
- Associate the file extensions to ExcelFre.exe in the Windows
register

/UnregF - Unsassociate the extensions from ExcelFre.exe in the
Windows register

/S -
Make in silence.

Example: C:\Apps\ExcelFre.exe /RegF /S

The
Association will be made to the path & name of the ExcelFre.exe
application. Be careful not to make the association when
ExcelFre.exe is localized in unreliable location such as a CD,
removable drive or over a network.

4 - Opening
files through the Excel standard open file dialog box

As it
was briefly explained above, when ExcelFre.exe is launched, it
obeys the following priority sequence to open files in the
Excel:

(1)
Search for a file name passed as argument in the command line

(2)
Search for a file in its folder that has same name of its .exe
but with .xla or (3) .xlam, (4) .xlsm, (5) .xltm, (6) .xlsb, (7)
.xls, (8) .xlsx, (9) .xlt or (10) .xltx extension

(11)
Finally, if no file name be found in the above sequence, it
shows a dialog box. Click the “Open in Excel” button to launch
Excel with its standard open file dialog box ready to locate a
file to be opened without macro alert

Any Excel version
can be used at any security level (Low, Medium, High or Very High).

And
see also XLtoEXE
which has some similar features, but with different approach and targets.

Increasing Excel Security and
Productivity

Macros are the key for extracting the true power of Excel,
taking it from a simple spreadsheet with formulas to an
extremely useful work tool capable of powerful interactive and
interfacing features with unlimited amounts number and text
crunching capability, and unfortunately at the same time open an
avenue for malicious software to be hidden in seemingly innocent
XL files.

Many
users turn the Excel security to the highest level to protect
themselves, losing the true power of Excel, others use a medium
or low level of security to allow these powerful features,
however with one careless click of the mouse, the user runs a
significant risk of opening a file containing malicious macros.

This
is where Excel Free comes into play; Excel Free can be used to
significantly increase the security level of your environment by
allowing Excel to have the absolute Highest Level of Security
Set, disabling all macros from unknown files, while at the same
time allowing selected XL files to run powerful macros
seamlessly.

Instead of Excel Free, you could use the Excel security features
to set trusted locations or register trusted macro publishers,
however these solutions are not simple or suitable for immediate
use. They may require administrative rights and appropriate
security levels, and can end up accumulating many Windows
Registrations that are no longer required.

Autorun CD

Excel
Free features make it easy to create Autorun CDs such that, when
the CD is inserted, it will open automatically an XL file in
Excel without macro alert.

Suppose that you want to make a CD that opens your XL file
automatically; in this case MyApp.xla. Follow these three steps:

1 -
Copy the ExcelFre.exe and rename it to MyApp.EXE

2 -
Using Windows Notepad, create a text file and save it as
AUTORUN.INF with these two lines:

[autorun]

OPEN=MyApp.EXE

3 -
Burn the CD with these files on the root:

MyApp.xla

MyApp.EXE

AUTORUN.INF

Optionally you can also have your own application Icon by adding
the ICON name to the AUTORUN.INI and adding the MyApp.ico icon
file to the CD’s root directory.

Zip Installer Package

Excel
Free features make it easy to create Zip installer package
totally programmed in VBA such that, when Setup.exe (Setup.exe
or Install.exe) is clicked in a Zip package, Zip will
automatically extract all the files to a temporary folder, runs
the Setup program and, after this completed, delete the
temporary installation files and folder.

This
process requires a VBA project in XL file to run the actual
installation process.

The
steps required to create a package are;

1 -
Create a new folder (for the installation files) eg “\MyApp”

2 -
Copy to this folder all the files required for the installation

3 -
Also copy the XL file with the VBA project to run the actual
Installation process and with the name properly started by
'Setup' or 'Install' or still 'Instl_' e.g. Setup_MyApp.XLS

4 -
Copy ExcelFre.exe to this folder and rename it to Setup.exe

5 -
Start Setup.exe while holding down the ‘Shift’ key and click OK
to the alert – This will bring up the Excel Free options form.
Make any appropriate changes, and then click ‘Open in Excel’.
This will create the Setup.INI file and still test the package
launching the Setup_MyApp.XLS

6 -
Right click the folder (“\MyApp”) and ask the Winzip to create a
zip of it.

That’s it. Remember you can use either Setup.exe or Install.exe
and have to make the XL file name equal or started by 'Setup' or
'Install' or still 'Instl_'. If you want to avoid that the XL file is opened in the
Excel when clicking inside the Zip, protect it with a password
or change its extension to XLSf, XLAf, or XLMf.

In
this site, you can see some examples of Zip packages using Excel
Free like the
ExcelCalendar.zip. Indeed, all add-ins and COM add-ins for Excel
available on the site have their installers and uninstallers
fully programmed in VBA in XLS files that are packaged with
other required files in two ways: converting to EXE using
XLtoEXE or zipping using Excel Free. This zip package is always
available as a second alternative for those who cannot download
executables or for those advanced users who want to open zip
packages with more options and installation control, but with
similar functionality of the EXE package: